Section %u2160: Before the IEEE competition
Not long after the FLL competition, coaches Frank and Robert had a drag race. This got the us excited about doing the IEEE challenges. Next came a few robot tutorials about wheels, chassis, etc; these were helpful because they helped to introduce our newer team members to LEGO MINDSTORMS. They also helped our more seasoned team members to consider what is needed for different robotic tasks.
We picked teams and then we went into competition mode the week before Easter Saturday.
Section %u2161: At the IEEE competition
Dragrace
Teams A and B got 2nd and 3rd place in the dragrace. Getting to second and third place was a fantastic achievement. The race for 1st place was close. If the scoring was “first to stop in the red box wins”, team A would have gotten 1st place. However, the scoring was "one point for being first to cross the red line and two points for stopping in the red box". And so Rocket Racers won by one point.
Sumo
Team C got 11th place in sumo. There was an interesting fault in the quarter finals, when it looked like the robot was interested in the iPhone the referee was using to time the match.(It had been left on the table). The bot promptly drove toward the phone and off the board, landing on the iPhone, and lost the bout. This was the ONLY time the robot drove straight off the board. In the next bout, our robot did not detect as well as it should have, got a poor position, and was ultimately pushed off the board.
Section %u2162: Scoring at IEEE compared to FLL
At IEEE the robot challenge is clearly worth 70%, while the technical component (report, display, and presentation) is worth 30%. At FLL, however, the project, core values, and robot report are definitely considered more important than the robot performance. In fact, it is not even clear if the robot performance contributes toward your final score.
Section IV: After IEEE
I think that we should have a debrief because we have done it in the past and it has worked well.
At a debrief we would share thoughts about the competition and discuss future possibilities.
Future Possibilities
- FLL
- IEEE With state machine?
Section V: Thank you
Thank you to Andrew and Lisa, Dave, Frank, IET, Robert, and everyone else who helped the Backstreet Builders!
My own comments are that the comparison between the IEEE and the FLL is interesting - the former is even more popular (about 126 teams competing: more than twice the number that were in the FLL). The entry cost is much less for the IEEE - you don't have to buy a special kit, and the competition boards are simple. The focus is more on engineering skills and the scoring and ranking is transparent whereas the FLL 'scoring' is arcane to the point of frustration.
However, there are those who want to try again at FLL - the challenges are intriguing, and the theme next year is hydrodynamics in the broadest sense which will be very relevant.
One interesting side comment from the IEEE day that Timothy did not mention: it was sponsored by IBM who made a considerable effort to encourage "all girls" teams and indeed 26 teams were all girls. The Tshrits for the day even had the hash tag #IBMSTEM4Girls emblazoned across it. The 33% on our teams that were girls considered this to be patronising, and the older boys thought they were neglected (the younger ones simply ignored the entire issue). Perhaps we are being counterproductive in our enthusiasm to "encourage"?
However, there are those who want to try again at FLL - the challenges are intriguing, and the theme next year is hydrodynamics in the broadest sense which will be very relevant.
One interesting side comment from the IEEE day that Timothy did not mention: it was sponsored by IBM who made a considerable effort to encourage "all girls" teams and indeed 26 teams were all girls. The Tshrits for the day even had the hash tag #IBMSTEM4Girls emblazoned across it. The 33% on our teams that were girls considered this to be patronising, and the older boys thought they were neglected (the younger ones simply ignored the entire issue). Perhaps we are being counterproductive in our enthusiasm to "encourage"?